学佛网手机版
Scan the code to watch on your phone

Why do you do so much but "really have no merits"?

Buddha answered 2024-08-18

During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Emperor Gao of Qi, Xiao Daocheng, Master Li Fayuan, was the national teacher, and was very respectful and worshipped.At that time, Prince Wenhui Xiao Changmao loved music. Once when he went to Zhengsheng Temple to pay homage to Master Fayuan, he asked the master: "I use the music played by Baobiao Qingbing to offer to Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. What kind of blessings do I have?”
But the Master of Dharma Vow replied: "In the past, there were Bodhisattvas who offered 80,000 songs, dances, music and music to the Buddha, but it was better to pursue the merits of Buddhism with sincerity;What's the merit of Your Highness bragging the bamboo tube and beating the cowhide to death?”
It is true that offering Buddha with every flower and one fruit, or even with a sound of music, all have immeasurable merits, but the merits of practicing Buddhism sincerely are far from the same.As the "Avatamsaka Sutra of the Great Blessed Buddha and the Vows of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva" says: Among all offerings, Dharma offerings are the most.(For example, the previous offering of infinite merits, and the offering of one thought of merit in the comparison Dharma is less than one percent, and less than one thousand percent, and hundreds of thousands of Kotis Nayuta, Kara, Calculation, Number, Metaphor, and Uponishata, are also less than one.)
Therefore, Master Lianchi said: "If you like Buddhist affairs but be ignorant of Buddhist principles, you will spend too much money.It does not transcend the causes of human and heavenly beings.May this be made public.How can you only realize the confusion of the world?It is a good medicine to suppress monks from all generations."(I like to hold Buddhist rituals but don't understand Buddhist principles. No matter how much it costs, it is just a blessing for humans and gods, and it is a leakage.Master Fayuan’s words not only alerted the confusion of secular people, but also a good medicine for becoming a monk for generations!)
There is a story in the "Great Sect and Treatise on the Great Purpose of the Past and Treatise on Bodhisattva Ma Ming.
Once upon a time, a great donor went to the monk's room to set up a vegetarian offering, and the fellow Taoist who walked with him asked the elders to preach for him.
This elder has achieved the three wisdoms and six powers, and has eight liberations. He observed with his fate and his mind. He knew that this great donor came to offer sacrifices to the monk just to seek wealth and profit, so he told him about the sufferings of the three evil paths. At the end, he said: "Good, good, good!The offerings you set up today are very suitable for the times, all of which are all of the colors, fragrance and deliciousness are extremely pure, and will not be missing in the three evil realms in the future!”
The fellow practitioner was very surprised and asked the elder: "How do you wish him enough food in the three evil realms in the future?”
At this time, the elder slowly said, "Although I am old and my teachings are inconsistent, I also know that this great donor does not keep the precepts and comes to offer sacrifices to the monastic community are driven by troubles, but for the pleasure of food, sex, and the growth of treasures, not for liberation!”
He told the donor that because of the merits of offering, the donor’s wealth is often extremely vast, but because many people do not cultivate their own minds, they will become arrogant and transcend the law and will eventually inevitably suffer from the sufferings of the three evil realms!
There are many such stories. Dao Xuanlu Zu also gave a squeezing and hammering to the public: "If you want to promote worldly affairs, offer the Three Jewels, pagodas and temples, and have no joy in your heart, it is the most important thing for me, or you may be calm and happy.When you are good at creating good things, you love and hate others, do flattery and deceitful things, and become a tree of miscellaneous confusion, so you will suffer from ghosts and have similar consequences.Because the mind is not real, it is born in the evil realm.Because blessings are achieved, we will be able to achieve superior results.”
This passage says that managing worldly affairs, offering the Three Jewels, and serving temples are very special. However, if you do not have the heart to be happy to seek the Tao, your ego will become heavier and he will eventually sink into the evil realm, because when doing these good deeds, you will be mixed with all kinds of contaminated and detrimental problems, you will be greedy for yourself, jealous of others, flatter and deceitful, and in the end you will be unable to change your bad habits. Not only will you not let go of yourself, but you will build a larger puppet in your heart, and you will easily fall into the realm of hungry ghosts.
Why is this?Because the mind at this time is not a true practice, the intention is in line with the evil path, but it accumulates a lot of blessings, so you will enjoy greater blessings in the evil path.
There is a case that has been passed down through the ages in Zen: Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, worked diligently to protect the Dharma throughout his life, built temples, such as Da Aijing Temple, Zhidu Temple, Guangzhai Temple, Tongtai Temple, etc., and even sacrificed himself to become a monk four times.
When he saw Patriarch Bodhidharma, he asked complacently: "What are the merits of building temples and monks, charity and vegetarianism in my life?”
Master Bodhidharma just said calmly: "It is really no merit."Emperor Wu of Liang failed to understand the meaning of the ancestor.
Later, someone asked the Sixth Patriarch Master Huineng, and the Sixth Patriarch also answered with great certainty: "There is no merit, so don't doubt the words of the previous saints!”
Why is this so?The Sixth Patriarch said that Emperor Wu of Liang was evil in his heart and did not know the truth.Building temples to save monks, offering gifts and setting up vegetarians are to seek blessings, and blessings should not be regarded as merit.Merit in the Dharma body does not lie in cultivating blessings.Merits must be seen in one's own nature, not what you want to give or offer.
This kind of hard work makes people have to be cautious. The worldly cause is to realize self-worth, while the practice of Buddhism is to dissolve oneself through various cultivations. Therefore, it is not only necessary to practice offerings in matters, but more importantly, to work hard from the heart and practice offerings in the Dharma.
What is the difference between the two?I remember Zen Master Hongying of Litan once said, "In ancient times, scholars govern the mind, and now, scholars govern the traces, but the mind and traces are far away."(In ancient times, practitioners were all practicing the mind, but today's scholars were working hard on appearances, but the mind was very different from appearances!) Today, it is another thousand years away from Zen Master Hong Ying, so how can you do it?
The theme of this website is mainly to promote Chinese Chinese culture. The content is for reference only. Learning and communication does not represent the concept of this website. If your rights are inadvertently infringed, please write to inform us. This website will be blocked immediately or modified or deleted as required. Contact the email address. amituofo7@vip.qq.com
Reward Like
Merit
Comment Q&A

微信分享

微信分享二维码

扫描二维码分享到微信或朋友圈

链接已复制